Carrying handles for portable articles



Sept. 10, 1963 W. R. STOREY CARRYING HANDLES FOR PORTABLE ARTICLES Filed July 18, 1961 jjwavroi. JILL/HM ROBEQT STOREY United States Patent 3,103,267 CYING HANDLES FOR PORTABLE ARTICLES William R. Storey, Hockley, Birmingham, England, assignor to C. W. Cheney 8: Son Limited, Birmingham, England Filed July 18, 1961, Ser. No. 124,864 Claims. (Cl. 19058) This invention relates to carrying handles for portable articles such as travel bags, boxes, trunks, attache cases and the like, hereinafter referred to simply as bags.

Usually a handle consists of a looped portion which is hingedly connected at its ends to attachment plates designed to be secured to the bag. In connection with a bag or so called hold-all made of ilexible material, and equipped with two looped flexible handles, it is emphasized that when the handles are not gripped, they usually drop sideways about their hinges and when the bag is to be carried the handles need to be raised and restored into their former position by the user. This has an important disadvantage in that when making a purchase or passing through a ticket barrier the user usually releases the handles and subsequently has to gather and raise them from the dropped position. Moreover, when such a bag is being displayed for sale in a shop window or in a store, it is not possible to retain the handles in an upright position without external assistance. In order to overcome the difliculty, some shop keepers tie the handles in the raised position with string, but this is unsatisfactory from a display viewpoint. It would also be an import-ant convenience for packing and transport if the handles could be retained in a stowed posit-ion at the sides of the bag.

According to the present invention, there is provided a carrying handle for a bag in which the ends of the handle are hingedly connected to attachment plates adapted to be secured to the bag, the attachment plates, or a part carried thereby, being provided with a device arranged to exert light frictional pressure on a hinged end sufiicient to enable the handle to be retained at least in an upright position.

Typical examples of the practical application of the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a side elevation of one end part of a handle constructed according to the invention,

FIGURE 2 is a part sectional elevation of the parts seen in FIGURE 1 on the line X-X, and

FIGURE 3 is a similar view to that of FIGURE 2 but showing an alternative embodiment of the invention.

Referring initially to FIGURES 1 and 2 of the drawings, the handle 4 is constructed of flexible material and is bent into a generally semi-circular loop. The ends of the handle 4 are secured to sheet metal connectors 5, the free ends of which are formed into approximately cylindrical sleeves 6 which accommodate a hinge pin 7, the two ends whereof project beyond the ends of the sleeve 6. Each connector 5 extends through a gap 8 in one side of a five sided generally parallelepiped pressing 9 constituting an attachment plate which is closed by the engagement of anchor plates 10 and H, one on each side of the body material 12 of the bag, by means of integral prongs 13 on the pressing 9 extending through slots in the anchor plates and the body material whereafter the prongs 13 are bent over to secure the fitting and to trap the ends of oi the hinge pin 7 within the interior of the pressing.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in FIG- URES l and 2 a part of the material which is pressed out of the gap 8 is formed into an arcuate tongue M which curves about the periphery of the sleeve 6 and exerts a light frictional pressure on the sleeve suliicient to retain 3,103,267 Patented Sept. 10, 1963 "Ice 2 the handle in an upstanding position on the bag whilst permitting the movement of the handle into other desired positions.

In the alternative embodiment of the invention shown in FIGURE 3 the tongue is formed not as an integral part of the attachment plate pressing 9 but as a projecion 15 on a separate plate 16 secured to one side the pressing 9 by rivets 18 or by eyelets. However, the projection 15 as in the case of the tongue v14, exerts a sulficient frictional engagement with the sleeve 6 to retain the handle in an upstanding position.

Preferably, and as shown in the drawings, the gap 8 in the pressing 9 extends through the whole of one side into an appreciable part of an adjoining wall of the pressing and the metal connectors embody cranked but otherwise flat parts 17 which permit rotation ot the handle, against the irictional resistance exerted by the tongue 14 or 15; through between an upstanding position on the bag and a downwardly tfolded position against one side of the bag.

I claim:

1. A bag handle comprising a looped handle, a connector at each end of the looped handle, a hinge pin passing through each connector, said hinge pins being coaxial so that the looped handle can pivot about the axes of the pins between erect and stowed positions; an attachment plate associated with each said connector, each said attachmentplate being formed with a gap and each of said connectors extending through the gap in a corresponding one of the attachment plates and being pivot-ally retained therein by said hinge pins, said attachment plates each carrying a tongue which makes light frictional engagement with the connector to provide a resistance to pivoting of the connectors and hold the looped handle in any predetermined position.

2. A bag handle comprising a looped handle, a connector at each end of the looped handle, said connectors each having a cylindrical knuckle, a hinge pin passing through each knuckle and projecting lbe-yond each end on? the knuckle so that the looped handle can pivot about the axes of the pins between erect and stowed positions; an attachment plate associated with each end of said looped handle, each said attachment plate being formed with a gap and each of said connectors extending through the gap in a corresponding one of the attachment plates and being pivotally retained therein by said projecting ends of said hinge pins, said attachment plates each carrying a tongue which makes light frictional engagement with the cylindrical knuckles to provide a resistance to pivoting of the connectors and t old the looped handle in any predetermined position.

3. A bag handle comprising a looped handle, a connector at each end of the looped handle, a cylindrical knuckle forming part of each connector, a hinge pin passing through each knuckle said pins being co-axi-al so that the looped handle can pivot about the axes of the pins between erect and stowed positions; an attachment plate at each end of said looped handle, each said attachment plate being formed with a gap and each of said connectors extending through the gap in a corresponding one of the "attachment plates and being pivotally retained therein by projecting ends of said hinge pins, said attachment plates each being formed with a tongue which is arcua-te and makes light frictional engagement with the cylindrical knuckle to provide a resistance to pivoting of the connectors and hold the looped handle in any predetermined position.

4. A bag handle comprising a looped handle, a connector having a cylindrical knuckle at each end of the looped handle, a hinge pin passing through each knuckle, said hinge pins being co-axial so that the looped handle can pivot about the axes of the pins between erect and stowed positions; an attachment plate at each end of said handle proper, each said attachment plate being formed with a gap and each of said connectors extending through the gap in a corresponding one of the attachment plates and being pivotally retained therein by projecting ends of said hinge pins, a tongue fixed to each of said attachment plates, said tongues being arcu-ate and making light frictional engagement with the connector to provide a resistance to pivoting of the connectors and hold the handle proper in any predetermined position.

5. A bag handle comprising a looped handle, a connector at each end of said looped handle, said connectors embracing the looped handle ends, having a cylindrical knuckle, and being cranked between said knuckles and the looped handle, a hinge pin trapped in each knuckle and projecting beyond the ends thereof, the pins being coaxial .so that the looped handle can pivot about the axes of the pins between erect and stowed positions; an at- References Cited in the file of this patent UNlTED STATES PATENTS 3,034,617 Gehrie May 15, 1962 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,138,688 France June 18, 1957 179,112 Great Britain May 4, 1922 

1. A BAG HANDLE COMPRISING A LOOPED HANDLE, A CONNECTOR AT EACH END OF THE LOOPED HANDLE, A HINGE PIN PASSING THROUGH EACH CONNECTOR, SAID HINGE PINS BEING COAXIAL SO THAT THE LOOPED HANDLE CAN PIVOT ABOUT THE AXES OF THE PINS BETWEEN ERECT AND STOWED POSITIONS; AN ATTACHMENT PLATE ASSOCIATED WITH EACH SAID CONNECTOR, EACH SAID ATTACHMENT PLATE BEING FORMED WITH A GAP AND EACH OF SAID CONNECTORS EXTENDING THROUGH THE GAP IN A CORRESPONDING ONE OF THE ATTACHMENT PLATES AND BEING PIVOTALLY RETAINED THEREIN BY SAID HINGE PINS, SAID ATTACHMENT PLATES EACH CARRYING A TONGUE WHICH MAKES LIGHT FRICTIONAL ENGAGEMENT WITH THE CONNECTOR TO PROVIDE A RESISTANCE TO PIVOTING OF THE CONNECTORS AND HOLD THE LOOPED HANDLE IN ANY PREDETERMINED POSITION. 